(JollofNews) – Without doubt the Bakoteh dumpsite is not just an eyesore but constitutes a crime against the surrounding communities for the dangerous fumes it releases into homes and schools, particularly the SOS Children’s Village everyday. Many citizens in these communities suffer from respiratory diseases because of this dumpsite, which keeps burning day and night unabated. Why the Gambia Government and KMC would allow this site to exist until today is indeed a gross irresponsibility for which the National Assembly must take urgent steps. This dumpsite is an intolerable health hazard of enormous proportions and must not continue to exist in that place.
Therefore one of the first businesses of the new parliament must be to open an enquiry into the case of the Bakoteh dumpsite. Such an action would see them fulfill their duty to protect the right to health of residents surrounding this deplorable place.
For that matter there is no better place to start first than at KMC. In July 2015, it was reported in the media that KMC Mayor Yankuba Colley signed a 2.2. million euros contract with the CEO of JMP company Mario Pratolongo from Italy. The National Roads Authority together with the Ministry of Works was tasked to oversee the implementation of the project. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dodou Senghore, DG of NRA at the time said the project was a huge relief for his native Bakoteh. Yankuba Colley himself said this was a special project aimed at finding a lasting solution to this pressing problem. The singing ceremony was witnessed by KMC councilors and community leaders.
One year later in April 2016, this project did not still kick off. Nothing was happening and when concerns were raised about the delay, the KMC public relations officer Fatoumatta Sillah amazingly told the media that KMC was not responsible for the delay. She told the Point newspaper that since KMC signed the contract one year ago, the Italian company was still transferring its equipment to the dumpsite in order to start work.
Fast forward to March 2017, which marks almost two years since the signing of the contract. Now the KMC through its Environment Manager Dodou Jallow speaking to Foroyaa newspaper said after all KMC never received the 2.2 million euros! This information came out after Bakoteh and Manjai committee members confronted KMC for failure of works to start.
The question now is this: Where is the 2.2. million euros that KMC Mayor Yankuba Colley signed with Mario Pratolongo in the presence of KMC councilors and community elders in the KMC offices? How did the story change from that signing ceremony to the transferring of equipment and finally to no money given to KMC? Where is the money? Meantime Bakoteh dumpsite continues to release dangerous smoke into our communities making our families sick in the middle of the biggest city in the Gambia?
Here is therefore the first task before the National Assembly. There must be a public parliamentary enquiry so that Gambians can hear from the horses’ mouth about who and what is responsible. That contract was real and the truth must come out. Those responsible must be held to account. That dumpsite must be removed.
I hereby call on the residents of Bakoteh, Manjai Kunda, Dippa Kunda, London Corner, Sanchaba, Kotu, Sukuta and environs as well as the schools and businesses in the area to pursue their NAMs to bring this matter to the parliament. These communities must also pursue Mayor Colley and their ward councilors to tell them where the 2.2 million euros went. Social justice activists must rise up to solidarise with the residents of these communities to demand justice and accountability.
If our NAMs, Councilors and the National Assembly fail to respond, let us come together to get a lawyer who will take the matter free of charge as a legitimate public interest case to the courts. If in the past we were afraid to pursue our legitimate public interests because of fear of arrests and harassment by the APRC Tyranny, let this new Gambia be a new dispensation where we will not leave any stone unturned in ensuring that justice prevails everywhere everyday. Let us demonstrate to ensure that the Government and KMC act on this dumpsite right now.
The continued presence of this dumpsite is already a violation of the right to health and human dignity of Gambians. Its continued presence is an act of impunity, which must not continue anymore. Let us organize to ensure that this dumpsite is removed by the government now. Youths, women, everyone, stand up for justice in your community!
God Bless The Gambia.
Thanks Madi for digging into and bringing up such matters of public importance in which transparency had been hidden. When public officers make statements and commit to agreements on behalf of our people, they must be held accountable. The Barrow administration is still at its infancy and deserves time to effectively mark its feet on the ground, but this subject can easily be kick-started by the local government ministry initiating the process for accountability – ask questions of the KMC Mayor and share the response publicly. In The Gambia nothing is a secret for too long and it’ll be a matter of time before the truth comes out.
Oh Madi, I also recall some years ago when Gamtel signed a contract with Seimens (of Germany) and monies passed, but nothing was executed, at least so it was alleged. I wondered at the time whether that was a money-sharing arrangement to benefit some thieves in Gamtel and beyond or whether the facts elicited were a misrepresentation or mischaracterization of the actual contract. Whatever it was, Gambians deserve to know what precisely happened so the matter can be put to bed. If dubious contracts are not properly investigated, that will send the wrong signal that one can engage in unlawful activity involving public funds and get away with it. It will be a case of rewarding the evil doers. We deserve better to straighten the future of our country.
Thank you Madi. This should be a priority to the NAMS. Bakoteh dump site issue should be resolved now.
Since we are in this new area of things, the govt should make efforts to turn this waste into energy. Where is GREC? (Gambia Renewable Energy Centre)
Brilliant and thoroughly “National Usefullness” piece from Madi!
NA must investigate.
In around 2002 I wrote a piece in the Daily Observer condemning the Bakoteh Dump. Something WAS done and it all looked very clean. So what happened?
This is serious “socially useful” journalism.
If any Gambian reading this article are keen towards solving the CRISIS at Bakoteh, start by attending next week’s fundraising conference to support projects of waste management:
https://wasteaid.org.uk/fundraising-wasteaid-conference-gambia/
As a residence of Bakoteh, this is not only personal to me but to every single Gambian.
Peace and blessings on
It seems you have bounced upon the real issue when you wrote “the right to health and human dignity of Gambians”.
It is instructive that the first clause of the constitution of Germany (a country that gave the world the holocaust) is that public authorities MUST …….. ensure the “right to human dignity” …….
And under this powerful clause citizens, and I suspect, non-citizens (eg refugees) alike can sue the government on a range of issues including environmental neglect, health and other violations violations such as you mention here. For example, even though over 300,000 asylum seekers have been told they could not stay in Germany, they could not still be forcibly removed if such an action would violate their right to human dignity. Similarly, there are no communal cells, and therefore overcrowding in german prisons – there are only single occupancy cells. Again because the very concept communal cells would violate a persons right to “human dignity”.
This suggest, or ought to suggest to us, that the first task of the new assembly is to “completely rethink how the constitution is drafted with a view to shaping it as a tool to permanently infuse into the very fabric of the society those universal “values”that our forefathers fought and died for – the fight might have happened elsewhere (including within our shores), or long time ago, but the victory is universal and belongs to everybody.
It seems to me that the mere act of making the Constitution “values-based, as opposed to merely rule-based will go a long way to foolproofing citizens and other person’s rights and achievements including the inviolable right to live in dignity, against repeated violations by particular interest groups, public, and private institutions, political, religious, and other civil societies, which, it would appear is currently the norm. We need to use the Constitution to make living in the Gambia great again!
Currently, communities are exposed to certain indignities without much help from the Constitution. For example, the courts, it would appear have no power to require that rubbish dumps that violate human dignity, given health considerations to cleaned, cleared, closed, backed up be power to impose heavy fines, penalties and other enforcement actions. A reference to the Constitution requiring all public bodies to ensure that their action/inactions do not violate a person(s)’s rights to live in dignity will give the courts something to work with in taking away the impunity – often the hallmark by which whole communities and individuals are made to fall victim to the deception and neglect by public institutions, or are taken hostage of by particular interest group, private institution. It seems crime pays in the current Gambian situation, or to quote Jammeh “And there is nothing anyone can do about it”.
Meaning, of course that, the community itself can become, or be made to be, either “too fat and lazy”, or too frightened and cowed “to do anything about it”! . The Constitution, if drafted properly can quickly turn the tables by making it too risky for public institutions “not to do anything about it”!
Brilliant journalism. Definitely, a priority for the National Assembly. Serious failings by both KMC and Central Government for a long time.
Madi Jobarteh, you did again. You have identified an important Deficit and Public Issue that demands attention from all Gambians and the Government. My question is, what is the use of all the NGOs in the GAMBIA, if they cannot Coalesce and Advocate for Change and Good Governance? What is the Mouth piece of the Government Media and Party Affiliated and especially, “the Independent” Media’s Responsibility and Due Diligence in Matters like this? Are there No Ethical, Responsible Investigative Journalist in the GAMBIA? NGOs can Fund them to undertake an in-depth Investigative work on this and many other issues confronting the GAMBIA and Gambians. The Public also has a Role to play in all of these. They can either turn a blind eye and ear until they are specifically affected or a relative is affected before Acting, or they can Organize their immediate Community to help their fellow Gambians. The Option is, You are a Public Citizen or an Individualist. Gambia can’t afford the latter at this point. The Public, it is said, Deserves the type or kind of Government it gets. They must Collectively Demand a Remedy and Resolution, while Endeavoring to bring about Change.
Muhammad and Dida, bravo for your approach to problem solving that buttresses the need for constant reminders in the form of op eds and action oriented smart strategies.
Creating awareness through conferences and media based activities that run alongside fundraising activities will certainly send a message of commitment to tackling environmental issues that local governments do show the will to deal with. Overseas fundraising activity under the leadership of non profits and other groups not only ensures timely intervention on the ground but also allows for the optimal use of funds raised. I wish to suggest that stakeholders look to partner with larger NGO’s on the ground in the interest of achieving synergy between actors.
Notwithstanding ongoing efforts to find a sustainable approach to dealing with the Bakoteh dumpsite, any funds deemed missing must be accounted for by KMC officials before too long.
Specifically, the burning of refuse at the Bakoteh dumpsite must cease immediately! Aside from the impact of smoke emanating from the dumpsite on overall air quality, there may be silent and unidentified pollutants that are volatilized on account of uncontrolled waste incineration. Where there is no sorting of waste into categories, hazardous wastes, within and outside of the KMC or The Gambia for that matter, may have perennially found their way into the Bakoteh dumpsite. Incineration and/or poor management would then release air-toxics and other pollutants into the immediate Bakoteh environment and ground water. At the end of the day, no one is safe with what goes on at the Bakoteh site. It is my view that the Bakoteh site, that is smack in the middle of a high population zone, must be cordoned off and declared a contaminated site on account of what is not known about a dumpsite within a population center. Some may counter that a declaration cannot be made in the absence of evidence. Well. the answer to that is to seal the site for the object of testing for evidence. It is also quite possible that the Bakoteh may harbor sources of radiological contamination. Silent killers that require competent testing to unearth possible contaminants.
In a nutshell, the Bakoteh site represents an immense health risk for all residents of the Greater Banjul Area!! The employees and scavengers at the site are at even greater risk!!
It is about time that The Gambia government deals with the Bakoteh dumpsite once and for all!! Find an alternate site supported by modern waste management and seal off the Bakoteh site!
Enough with the hand wringing!!
I wish to suggest that the leadership team of, https://wasteaid.org.uk/fundraising-wasteaid-conference-gambia/, share with the online readership the proceedings of the upcoming conference plus gains made so that parties interested in supporting activities could chip in. Keep us posted.
Great job!!